6/20/2002 @ 6:30PM

The Voice Of Black America

Tom
Joyner
Tom Joyner
may not have hit the same financial heights as radio’s top-paid broadcasters:
Rush
Limbaugh
Rush Limbaugh
,
Howard
Stern
Howard Stern
and
Paul
Harvey
Paul Harvey
. But the disc jockey known as the “Fly Jock” is fast approaching their altitude.

Joyner may not have made the cutoff this year for hosts, but we expect he’ll do so next year. Joyner’s syndicated Dallas morning show reaches 9 million listeners each week and airs on half of the 240 stations in the ABC Radio Urban Advantage Network. He earned his moniker by commuting between Dallas and Chicago to host two shows, five days a week, for eight years until
ABC Radio Networks
, which is owned by
The Walt Disney Co.
, signed him in 1994.

That commitment to his craft has paid off.

His show’s success is the result of a mix of entertainment, music and issue-related advocacy for African-American causes. He raises money for an eponymous foundation that awards college scholarships. His show has successfully pressured companies such as
CompUSA
to advertise more on black radio. He has helped with voter registration drives in 11 cities and led the charge to force
Christie’s
auction house in New York to donate slave memorabilia to a museum rather than sell the items.

Joyner’s camp has maintained that he makes only $3 million per year. Try $10 million. His show generates more than $30 million in revenue. Expect his cut to increase significantly when he signs a new contract in the wake of the Limbaugh, Stern and Harvey deals. Those guys have revenue-sharing agreements upwards of 50% with stations. Joyner won’t get that much, but he’ll be close.